Explore the most popular dogs on leash trails in Bear Mountain State Park with hand-curated trail maps and driving directions as well as detailed reviews and photos from hikers, campers and nature lovers like you.

Nice views of the Hudson. Had done this same hike a few years ago. Would not rate this as hard.

As others have said, difficult to follow. Other than the AT section, blazes are not very well maintained and a couple of junctions are very confusing. Had a map and AllTrails open at all times, and still made a number of wrong turns. Wasn’t a big deal in terms of time, but way less fun with your head buried in a map. If you live in NY area and itching to get out and do a workout, fine. Otherwise, meh.

Once it reopens would recommend breakneck ridge instead. Much more challenging and no navigation drama. Plus post hike in town of cold spring is great.

Hike begins on the 1777 Trail from Fort Montgomery, which is a pretty cool place to check out as well. The 1777 Trail meanders for awhile, across a road and sometimes along the road which I found slightly annoying but it's all about the payoff!! Eventually the trail stays in the woods along Popolopen Creek, look for a blue blazed trail to your right at some point. I opted to take the second blue trail to ensure a loop, this also allowed me to enjoy the bridge which crosses over the creek. Nice climb once you get into the blue trail, view at the top is stunning, 360 degree views. There is also a Memorial at the peak which is the culmination of the "Trail of the Fallen".

Did this backwards (Major Welch first) today, and it was great but surprisingly tricky and occasionally difficult to find the trail on the way up. Views are fantastic, not a ton of wild life but some great birds soaring.

The top has a good view but I actually thought some of the views on the way up MW were better than the top! And yes, people are parked up but you walked, so feel good and enjoy it as much as they are.

It seems under specified here: the Major Welch section is a serious hike! Yes you're not vertical rock climbing but there is more scrambling than I've done on many other trails and you DO need to be comfortable with heights. I took someone less serious about hiking and they were surprised (as was I!) that I'd taken them on this route! I would not want to do MW downwards or in the wet either - it's fun but it was fun because it's dry.

The overall trail has lots of people even on a Monday and many are not serious hikers, which depending on how you like your trail pals is good, neutral, or bad!

Nice hike with pretty views at Anthony’s nose. Steep section in the beginning but flattens out after the first uphills. I continued on past the nose just to add some distance, and there were some more views going down.

This hike covers 3 mountains and it was pretty challenging one. We took 5 hours with lots of breaks due to cramps. Please do carry enough water and not end up like us. The hike is 9 miles with 2000+ feet overall elevation gain.I would love to give the hike 5 stars mainly due to the varied terrain and the workout quality, but I’m reducing to 4 stars because I feel the hike is a bit under maintained and could be made even better. Also, there are just too many flies and insects which made us all the more irritated. Although not bringing a good insect repellent is completely our fault. We even saw a huge snake.Also, be sure to download the map as it’s very easy to get lost( the markers are not great) and you won’t get any signal for half the hike. The parking space is also less so we ended up parking by the road.But if u have the bases covered to handle or not mind the above shortcomings, I would surely recommend this hike- it truly was an amazing workout.

This hike features many strenuous rock scrambles and inclines and a number of very nice views. This loop also passes over Bald Mountain which provides a great spot to view the Bear Mountain Bridge and the Hudson River below. The temperatures were in the 80s during my hike and with the trees still leafless, the sun was really beating down. I also saw about 7 deer and 1 wild turkey along the way.

It was ok. Decent hike with some good inclines but definitely not "hard." There were a few pretty spots but the best veiws were from the parking lot. I haven't hiked the area before but I got the feeling there were other trails near by that would have been much better.

A pretty good hike with a lot of scenic view spots. The landscape varies through the trail, and it is a great choice to enjoy the view of Hudson River as well as Bear Mountain Bridge. Some parts are a little bit steep but totally manageable. The only drawback is that at the bottom of the trail near the railway, the freight train can be very loud!

Went yesterday and did the route leading up the steps instead of going along the lake first. Everyone was warning us after the tower that it was a steep descent but fortunately we didn't have any problems (maybe it was the fact we were wearing hiking shoes and everyone else was in nike trainers?). Seemed like we might've had the easier route since everyone looked wiped out coming from the other way. It was a quick and steady incline the way we went but after the tower, there wasn't much of a challenge besides trying to not fall on our butts during the steep descent :) Took us 2 hours with a sandwich break.

This should be an out and back trail. There is no need for the loop unless you just want to add miles and walk through the woods. Take the blue trail from the 9 up to the Timp viewpoint then just round the corner to see the Bear Mountain bridge. Beyond that, the loop is just a long climb down that you have to climb back up. You have to leave the blue trail, follow an old fire road by the creek and then meet up with 1777 trail and climb back up (with no views), kind of a waste and a real leg burner. I woulda been more than happy with the out and back